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The first book I read by Kate Atkinson was When Will There Be Good News? . I remember devouring it, loving the characters, loving the writing. I read all the Jackson Brodie books, and was excited to learn about Life After Life.

It took me weeks to read that book. I kept picking it up and putting it down, not sure if I would ever get through it. I think it was the time shifting, creating a kind of vertigo, much like the main character, Ursula Todd, felt, constantly dying and being reborn. I ended up finishing the book, really enjoying it, and amazed at Atkinson’s writing abilities, at how different Life After Life was from her other novels.

Atkinson calls A God In Ruins a companion piece to Life After Life. I read it over five days, taking it in at a moderate pace. It follows the life of Ursula’s younger brother, Teddy, and lovingly weaves in family members, Teddy’s parents, his wife, child and grandchildren. It also shift chronologically, following the lives of these people in a way I found less jarring, filling in the Todd family story and allowing for mystery, elements of family drama that evolve because of events finally revealed at the end of the book.

There is history it both of these novels, World War II, the blitz, the British and Allied bombing of Germany. Atkinson dug deep, she holds nothing back in her descriptions of the blitz, in the scenes of Teddy and his crew in their Halifax bomber, flying to and from their bombing runs. A God In Ruins is beautifully written, deeply engaging and I found it emotionally honest. I highly recommend it, even if you haven’t read Life After Life.

There, I’ve jumped in, glad to be back in the water. I find myself reading more and more historical fiction lately, particularly World War I and World War II. Not sure what that is about but any suggestions would be appreciated.

It has been over a month since my last post. I’ve been traveling, spending time outside away from my computer and dealing with a minor health issue. I have also been reading, loving what I read and finding it difficult to write about the books I’ve finished. You can see the books on Goodreads. My user name is Gavin9.

Even with all that keeping me busy, it is obvious to me that I’m just not into keeping up with this blog. I am reading your posts, finding time to visit your blogs and sometime leave comments. I will continue to do so. I hope to revive my poetry blog and occasionally I post something on tumblr, so you are welcome to visit those place. For now be well, be happy and keep reading!

Winner of the Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz Awards for Best Graphic Novel and Best Cartoonist.

Borrowed from the library.

I really though I had read this before. After looking at it in the library I realized I hadn’t. I am so glad I brought it home.

Blankets is an autobiographical novel that tells the story of Craig Thompson’s growing up in an fundamentalist Christian family. Simply told and beautiful drawn in black and white, it revisits childhood memories, sharing a bed with his younger brother, the horrors of certain punishments, being an outsider at school and at church, the experience of first love.

Blankets tells the story of a young person’s struggle with belief and guilt, the questions many ask themselves about faith, family and individuality. Thompson’s artwork, sometimes earthy, sometimes dreamlike, adds great emotional depth to this story. It is an unusually honest portrayal of teen fear and loneliness, as well as the passion felt with first love. I found the ending quite beautiful.

The only graphic book I can compare it to is Stitches: A Memoir by David Small, another wonderful book. Here are some links to some great reviews of Blankets. Please visit them. (If you have reviewed this book let me know and I will add your link.)

Happy Sunday to you all. I will be heading into school this week to begin helping in the classroom and organizing the library. Summer has passed by quickly but I feel well rested and have accomplished many of the things on my to-do list. I really can’t wait to see the children. They can change so much over the summer and they just love to tell stories about their summer activities.

I have spent a good part of this week at “summer camp”. There is a method of somatic education work called Feldenkrais. I started taking lessons in the 90’s and somehow fell away from it. Last year, when I injured my knee, a friend suggested I see a colleague of her’s for some body work. It turned out she is a Feldenkrais practioner. I had one of those “aha” moments. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

Anyway, LeeAnn helped me with my injury and I started going to Awareness Through Movement classes again. This last week we had five days of intensive work with a master teacher. Fantastic! If you have issues with pain and/or injury or you practice Yoga, Tai Chi or martial arts I would suggest you check it out.

As for books, I picked up a large stack from the library and am working on a Library Loot post. I also added several books to my to-be-read list including By The Sea by Veronique Olmi thanks to chasing bawa and Mosquito by Roma Tearne thanks to Eva. Right now I am reading Kings of the Earth by Jon Clinch and The Passage by Justin Cronin. How about you? What are you reading today? What do you plan on reading this week?

A collective of bibliophiles talking about books. Book Fox (vulpes libris): small bibliovorous mammal of overactive imagination and uncommonly large bookshop expenses. Habitat: anywhere the rustle of pages can be heard.